Chapter 5: Seeing, Thinking, and Doing in InfancyPerceptionThe process of organizing and interpreting sensory informationVisionAuditory PerceptionTasteSmellTouchIntermodal PerceptionSensation and PerceptionSensation- the processing of basic information from the external world by sensory receptors in the sense organs (eyes, ears, skin) and the brainPerception- the process of organizing and interpreting sensory infoStudying Visual PerceptionHabituationRepeatedly present infant with one stimulus until response declinesThen present a novel stimulusIf the infant’s response increases, researchers infer that the baby can discriminate between the old and new stimuliPreferential looking technique (method for studying visual attention in infants that involves showing infants two patterns or two objects at a time to see if the infants have a preference for one over the other)Infants prefer to look at things that are more interestingSee difference in how long they look at one thing relative to anotherVisual Acuity (sharpness of visual discrimination)Distinguishing high contrast aspects of an imageVisionHigh contrastsInfants have poor contrast sensitivity (ability to detect differences in light and dark area in a visual pattern)Black/white patterns are easiest to seeNewborns also prefer to look at patternsPrefer a “normal face” image and a “scrambled face” over a “no face” imageGave the real face most attentionExperience mattersOther Developments in visionObjects segregationPattern perceptionPerceptual constancyDepth perceptionPictorial representations10/8/2013Auditory PerceptionWell developed at birthApproaches adult levels between 5 and 8 yearsCan do auditory localization (perception of the location in space of a sound source)Can perceive subtle differences in human speechMusic perceptionSensitive to melody but not pitch shiftTasteDiscriminate between sweet, bitter, and salty tastesPrefer sweetTaste-buds become more localized with experienceSmellInfants are very sensitive to odorsCan discriminate familiar odors with experienceIntermodal Perception (the combining of information from two or more sensory systems)Present from very early in lifeVery young infants link sight and sound, oral and visual experience, and visual and tactile experienceSensation/Perception ReviewNewborns are biologically prepared for sensory stimulation but the actual experiences infants have shape the development and refinement of those systemsMotor DevelopmentReflexesMotor MilestonesLearning from experienceReflexes (Innate, fixed patterns of action that occur in response to particular stimulation)SuckingRootingSwallowingGraspingMoroStepping reflex (a neonatal reflex in which an infant lifts first one leg and then the other in a coordinated pattern like walking)Motor MilestonesNormally developing children vary considerably in the ages at which they reach these milestonesPrereaching movements (clumsy swiping movements by young infants toward the general vicinity of objects they see)Intentional reachingIncreases precision and accuracy in reachingExperience plays a role:Physical maturation makes intentional reaching possible, but intentional efforts, practice, and experience transform it into a refined motor skill.LocomotionSelf-locomotion- the ability to move oneself around in the environmentWalking depends on the ability to integrate many systemsUpright posture, leg alternation, weight shifting, sense of balanceMaturation and experience both play a role in the development of walkingExperience makes a difference..Ex: Hopi Indian, Paraguay (Ache people), West African dangling exercisesAdolph videoPreviously believed to be an element of neurological maturityCurrent theories take a dynamic-systems approachEmphasize many factorsNeural mechanismsIncreases in strength, posture control, balancePerceptual skillsMotivationCulture& Even secular change in motor developmentAction as an organizer of perceptionLocomotion may affect other aspects of developmentThe onset of walking affects the way babies understand their perceptual worldUnderstanding and compensating for changes in spatial orientationsUsing visual information to control postureUnderstanding object scalePerception does not equal understandingProblem solvingScale errors- attempt by a young child to perform an action on a miniature object that is impossible due to the large discrepancy in the relative sizes of the child and the objectVisual cliffLinks between perception, locomotion, cognitive abilities, emotion, and the social contextResearch with the visual cliff illustrates the interdependence of different domains of developmentResearchers fond that experience of moving around plays a very important role in babies’ developing understanding of the significance of differences in the height of surfacesSocial referencingLearning TypesHabituationPerceptual LearningStatistical LearningClassical ConditioningInstrumental ConditioningObservational LearningShapes earliest understandings of people, objects, and language sounds1. HabituationA decrease in response to a repeated stimulusReflect the general efficiency of the infant’s processing of informationContinuity has been found between these measures in infancy and general cognitive ability later in life2. Perceptual LearningUse perceptual abilities to actively search for order and regularity in the world around themDifferentiation: extracting elements from environment that are invariant or stableDiscovery of affordances- possibilities for actions offered by objects and situations3. Statistical LearningForming associations among stimuli that occur in a statistically predictable pattern4. Classical Conditioning (a form of learning that consists of associating an initially neutral stimulus with a stimulus that always evokes a particular reflexive responseUCS (stimulus that evokes a reflexive responseUCR(reflexive response that is elicited by the UCS)CS (neutral stimulus that is repeatedly paired with the UCS)CR (the originally reflexive response that comes to be elicited by the CS)5. Instrumental Conditioning (learning the relation between one’s own behavior and the consequences that result from it)Operant conditioningMost involves positive reinforcement, ( a reward reliably follows a behavior and increases the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated)There is a contingency relation between the infant’s behavior and the rewardEx: A young infant learns within minutes that kicking her leg would cause the